Cavitation is related to the formation of bubbles and cavities within a liquid. Bubble formation can result from a localized pressure drop in the liquid. For example, if the local pressure of a liquid decreases below its boiling point, vapor-filled cavities and bubbles may form. As the pressure then increases, vapor condensation can occur in the bubbles and they may collapse, creating large pressure impulses and high temperatures. When cavitation is used for the mixing of substances, the process can provide high-shear mixing.
There are many known methods and devices for producing fluid dispersions, in particular, suspensions and emulsions, using the effect of hydrodynamic cavitation on a fluid. In these methods, the emulsification and dispersion processes go on as a result of cavitation influences purposefully created in the process flow as a result of passing the flow through a localized constriction. The mixing, emulsifying and dispersing influences of hydrodynamic cavitation occur as a result of a great number of powerful influences on the processed components resulting from the collapse of the cavitation bubbles.
In the field of cavitation of fluids, including hydrodynamic cavitation, it is known that various devices, using vortex movements of the fluid, are sufficient to reduce the local pressure in a core zone of the vortex to form the cavitation bubbles in the fluid. Typical of the art are those devices disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,261,521; 5,318,702; 6,797,170; 7,034,067; 7,087,178; 7,357,566; 7,651,614; 7,762,715, and United States Patent Published Application No. 2012/0097280, the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The methods and devices disclosed in the aforementioned patents and application have proven efficient and useful for treating fluids and creating fluid dispersions.
To more efficiently treat fluids with hydrodynamic cavitation and provide more effective fluid dispersions, a greater energy conversion, from the cavitational and kinetic dispersing energy to the liquid flow, is desirable.
The present invention addresses a new and improved method and device for cavitationally treating fluids and liquid disperse systems which is simple in design, effective in use, and overcomes the foregoing difficulties and other disadvantages while providing better and more advantageous overall results.